Simple Joys
by Takenokohime
Summary: The story of Levi and Petra's relationship, from when they first met to its untimely end, as told through a series of one-shots. Rated M for suggestive situations, violence, character death, and Levi's filthy mouth.
1. The Ones Left Behind

**Author's Notes: Hi, Takenokohime here! Welcome to my new story! I wanted to try my hand at some one-shots, but I still wanted to have an overarching story, so yeah, here is my compromise! I'm sorry that this first chapter is short and kind of sad, I wrote this as sort of a prologue to the story. But I promise all future chapters will be significantly longer and less sad. I hope you enjoy! And please don't leave a review and to follow/favorite if you enjoy!**

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The Ones Left Behind

Early Summer, 850

The day had been a long one. In one day, the Survey Corps had lost more members than any previous venture. Friends, lovers, siblings, all gone. Back at their base of operations, a lone figure roamed around the rooms, as if searching for his fallen comrades. The short, black haired man wasn't one for expressing much emotion, but being one of the lone survivors from the day's expedition had him feeling vulnerable. He sulked around the grounds searching the grounds for the other survivors until he found one, a woman with dark brown hair and glasses, sobbing in a corner.

The man cleared his throat, causing the woman to look up. "Oh, Commander Levi, I didn't hear you come by. How are you holding up?" The woman sniffled and wiped a tear away, then let out a nervous laugh. "I'm not doing too well myself."

Levi sat down beside the woman and pulled out a piece of fabric from the pocket of his jacket. "I'm...I'll be fine..." Levi said in a low voice.

The woman looked at the piece of fabric. It was a patch that would normally adorn the jacket of a member of the Scouting Legion. Levi stroked the patch with his thumb and a sighed sadly.

"That's Petra's patch, isn't it?" the woman asked, a hint of pity in her voice.

"It is," Levi said, voice crackling.

"Levi, I'm so sorry. We all loved Petra and how cheerful and bright she was," the woman said softly.

Levi let out a sigh as he felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. "She was a great person. I loved her so much." Levi turned to look at the woman beside him, embarrassed by the sudden emotion. "Hange, I..."

"It's alright Levi. We're all a little, well...more than a little, emotional tonight," Hange breathed. "Maybe you should, go to Petra's room? You know, to say goodbye?"

Levi nodded, then got up from his seated position. "I'm heading over there. Hange, go get some rest."

He walked down the hallway of the living quarters until he found Petra's former room. Her things were all still stacked up and organized, making it seem like she was just gone away temporarily. Levi walked into the room and inspected everything. There was a stack of letters she had written for her family on her desk, and next to the letters was a copy of her favorite book, _The Moving Castle_. The corsage Levi had gotten her for a military ball was sitting on her dresser along with various knickknacks she had brought with her from home. She had pinned a picture of herself with Levi, Hange, and the other members of their squad to her wall.

Levi walked over to her bed and sat next to her old stuffed toy, a cat she called Frida. Petra had told him once that she was given Frida when she was a baby and slept with her every night. Levi noticed something on the bed glimmering next to Frida. He picked it up and let out a slight gasp. It was a promise ring he had given to her, indicating his intent to marry her someday. He knew Petra never wore the ring on missions since she was worried that it would fall off and get lost, but seeing it now and knowing that the future it promised would never happen felt surreal.

He leaned back on the bed and looked up at the bed frame. Pinned to it was a picture of him and Petra together from last spring, taken when they had visited her aunt in Stohess. Both were out of their usual military garb; instead Levi was wearing a white button-up shirt with his signature cravat and Petra was wearing a light yellow short-sleeved dress. Both looked genuinely happy and in love.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have saved you. I'm sorry that our life together had to end like this," Levi whispered as he looked up at the picture.

He then pulled Petra's patch out from his pocket again and held it against his chest. He closed his eyes and sighed sadly, imagining that Petra was lying beside him, drifting off into his thoughts.


	2. Spring Waltz

**Author's Notes: Well, here is the first of hopefully several Rivetra one-shots! I'm sorry that the first chapter/prologue was so sad, I wanted to give the story some sort of context! But I promise that this chapter is much more upbeat! I also realized the author's notes for the first chapter I made a rather unfortunate typo (apparently I forgot the word "forget" so it read "please don't leave a review..." It's getting fixed, and I do want reviews because I'd love to get feedback on how to improve the story!) Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this first little one-shot and let me know what you think! I'm also open to suggestions for future one-shots for this story as long as they fit in the cannon story timeline, so leave any suggestions in a review or PM! And of course, a warning about cursing because, well, Levi.**

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Spring Waltz

Spring, 848

The annual Military Ball was rapidly approaching, and it seemed like everyone in the Scouts couldn't wait for the event. Well, everyone except for Levi. He'd never been one for social events, and in his mind it was an excuse to try to smooth over relations between the various branches of the military.

Levi sighed as he looked out the window of his study. Gunther and Eld were slacking off, allegedly practicing dancing for the ball. "Eugh..." Levi groaned. "I'll never be caught acting like this..."

There was a knock on Levi's door. "Commander!" he heard Hange's voice call.

"Oh, come in Hange. It's not like I wasn't busy with something..." Levi said, rolling his eyes.

Hange opened the door and bounded into the room. She was wearing blue suit pants, a black waistcoat, and a white button up. However, her messy brown hair was still back in its usual tangled ponytail and she still had her thick glasses on.

"You look like a man, Hange. Why are you doing this?" Levi scowled.

"This is what I'm wearing to the ball! I mean, can you imagine me in a dress? Neither can I! Besides, suit pants are so comfortable!" Hange enthused, jumping in place. She then looked around the room. "Commander, you were reorganizing your study again, weren't you?"

"The books weren't right. Now they're organized alphabetically by color and size. It's perfect now," Levi justified.

Hange shook her head and chuckled. "I'll never get your obsession with making everything tidy and organized!" She then circled Levi's desk and stopped behind him. "Are you going to ask anyone to be your date to the ball? You should! I don't want to brag, but Oulo, Gunther, and Eld all asked me. Thing is though, none of them are my type! Oulo is so pompous, Eld is always going to be Mr. Piss-Pants to me, and Gunther doesn't share my enthusiasm for, well, anything!"

"I'm not asking anyone because I'm not going. If I wanted to see military personnel march around in clown suits I'd participate in your stupid shitty Hallow's Eve party," Levi grumbled.

Hange put her hand to her mouth in contemplation then suddenly gasped. "You know, Petra wants to go to the ball. But I know she wants you to be the one to ask her! I know Oulo is planning on asking her too!"

Levi groaned and arched his back. He had been involved with Petra for a little over half a year at this point, and while he enjoyed being with her he refused to make the relationship publicly known. After all, he was a military man first. Being in a public relationship could hurt his reputation.

"I'll go talk to her," Levi muttered. "Maybe I can talk some damn sense into her."

Levi walked out of his study, irritated. Why was everyone taking this goddamn ball so seriously? It was an annual event, and a pointless annual event at that. Hopefully he could at least get Petra on his side about this. He walked over to her room where she was trying on a pastel blue dress. As much as Levi didn't want to admit it, Petra looked beautiful in it. It was one of those dresses with a hoop skirt and lace trim around the bust, a style that was very popular in Wall Sina among the upper class. He swallowed nervously, drawing Petra's attention.

"Oh, Levi! Hi!" she chirped, turning around to face him.

"Miss Ral," Levi said curtly.

"What do you think of this dress for the military ball tonight? My aunt got it for me as a present!" Petra enthused, twirling around to admire the dress.

"It looks very becoming," Levi said slowly, unsure of what to say next.

Petra noticed that Levi seemed hesitant to say something, so she walked over to her bed and sat down. "Levi, is everything alright? Why don't you sit with me for a little while?"

Levi walked over to her bed and sat beside her, then grabbed her right hand in his. "You know I think the military ball is pointless," Levi began. "Do you expect me to go with you?"

"It would be nice to spend the night with my boyfriend," Petra replied. "And I personally think you'd look quite good in a suit. You already dress properly enough," she said smiling as she adjusted his cravat.

Levi smiled faintly. "I don't consider myself much of a suit man."

"Well, at least think about it. We can just go as two friends, or we could go in a group with some of the others. No one has to know that we're seeing each other," Petra offered.

"I think Shitty Glasses already figured it out though..." Levi sighed, rolling his eyes.

Petra laughed and smiled at Levi. "Oh, just ignore Hange! We both know how much she likes to imagine the other members of the squad hooking up! Besides, what would be so bad if one person knew about us?"

"When that one person is the loudest member of the Scouts, you tell me," Levi muttered. "Shitty Glasses can't keep her damn mouth shut for one minute."

Petra kissed Levi on the cheek then got up from the bed. "Just ignore what Hange says about us. I'm going to see Nanaba now because she said she'd help me do my hair and make up for the ball tonight. While I'm gone, will you please promise me that you'll at least think about going to the ball with me?"

Levi grunted in response, and Petra walked out of the room, looking at him and smiling as she walked out. The gruff commander let out a deep sigh and flopped back on her bed. She had started to get to him. He was actually considering going to the ball. What the fuck was wrong with him!? _Oh no,_ he thought. _This is just a passing thought. There's no goddamn way I'd be caught dead at that shitty ass ball with the shitty ass Military Police in their shitty ass suits..._

Ten minutes later everyone was surprised to see Levi scoring the grounds of the base for flowers. He was actually touching dirt! With his bare hands!

"What do you think has gotten into the Commander?" Eld asked Gunther, Oulo, and Hange as they all watched from the window of the main hallway.

"He's finally lost it! Now I have to bravely assume his position due to his insanity making him incapable of leading!" Oulo declared.

Gunther rolled his eyes and punched Oulo in the gut, making the other man crumple to the floor. Eld and Hange laughed as Oulo shot Gunther his death glare.

"I think that our little Levi is in love!" Hange chucked. Eld and Gunther looked at her like she was acting more insane than usual.

"Levi...having feelings...for anything. Hange, you know that's physically impossible," Eld replied, having a hard time wrapping his mind around the idea.

"Well, think about it. The ball is tonight and it would be a perfect time to express your feelings for a certain someone!" Hange explained. "Speaking of which, which one of you three is going to get _me_ flowers for the dance? Just because I'm wearing a suit doesn't mean I don't want flowers!"

"Oh, what'll you do if we refuse to get you flowers for the ball?" Oulo asked, annoyed.

Hange flashed a wicked grin. "I've been meaning to look into getting new human test subjects! You three fit what I need exactly!"

Eld, Oulo, and Gunther glanced at each other and bolted out to get flowers for Hange. Just then, Levi walked back in, covered in dirt and holding several flowers. Hange began giggling as Levi walked by.

"Shut the fuck up, Shitty Glasses," he muttered. "Never say anything of this to anyone!"

* * *

Floral arrangement actually came easy for Levi, which surprised him. Perhaps since he was already so obsessive with keeping everything in its place it carried over to this. Once he was satisfied with his arrangement, he tied a ribbon around it. A white rose, some daisies, and a sprig of babies-breath. It looked perfect.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this...it's dumber than trying to reason with Shitty Glasses..." Levi groaned as he walked over to Petra's room.

He knocked nervously on the door to Petra's room. "Come in!" she called.

Levi opened the door and held out the corsage he had just made for Petra. "Here. It's for the dance."

Petra grinned at Levi. "So you'll go with me as my date?"

Levi nodded his head. Petra wrapped him in a hug and smiled wildly. Levi somehow remained his usual stoic self, despite being very uncomfortable with the sudden hug attack. Petra then leaned back and stared at Levi happily.

"I'm so glad you're doing this for me!" Petra sighed happily.

"Of course," Levi replied. "Now, I'm going to find something to make myself look presentable in. After all, the Military Police are going to be there and I so want to impress them..." he added, voice dripping with sarcasm.

* * *

The military ball was different from how Levi imagined it would be. It was actually even more boring than he had initially thought. All people did was gossip and complement each other's outfits. Sure there was dancing, but the dancing seemed dreadfully slow. The band only seemed to know how to play slow songs. The food wasn't anything special; just finger foods and pastries. At least the booze was decent.

Petra had been talking to old friends from her trainee days most of the night, leaving Levi alone at the bar. Well, not completely alone. Mike and Nanaba were at the bar, flirting it up. The two had gone as each other's dates, and it seemed like they were seconds away from sticking their tongues down each other's throats.

"Ahem!" Levi cleared his throat loudly. "Do you mind not fucking each other at the bar?"

"Oh lighten up, Commander," Nanaba said, rolling her eyes.

Mike leaned over and sniffed Levi, who gave him an irate look. "Boredom mixed with apathy. Typical of you," Mike described before sniffing Levi again. "Hm. With a hint of desire. Who's the lucky woman?"

"Fuck you Mike," Levi growled.

"Oh. My mistake. Lucky man..?" Mike attempted to correct himself.

Levi stomped on Mike's large foot and shot him a death glare. That would teach him for getting uncomfortably personal. The music changed to a slightly faster song and out of the corner of Levi's eye he spotted Petra running toward him. She had light makeup on and her hair styled into a fashionable up-do, which made her look even more beautiful than she usually was.

"Levi, come on! They're playing a waltz! Let's dance together!" Petra enthused, grabbing Levi's hands.

Levi begrudgingly followed Petra onto the dance floor and began leading him in the waltz. He glanced over his shoulder to see Mike and Nanaba mocking him by puckering their lips and making hearts with their hands. Levi glared at them and began making plans for dealing with them later. The music began to slow down again and Petra sighed dreamily, looking the Commander in the eyes.

"You look really handsome tonight, Levi," she said, blushing.

"You don't look bad yourself, Miss Ral," Levi replied, a faint smile on his face.

Petra moved closer to Levi and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm really glad you agreed to come with me. I know this isn't something you enjoy but it means a lot to me that you came."

Levi sighed and gently stroked Petra's light red hair. "Of course," he whispered into her neck.

For a moment, it felt like it was just the two of them alone. There wasn't a crowd of others nearby, there wasn't a band, and there weren't any annoying comrades. It was just him and Petra. He tenderly kissed her neck and closed his eyes, completely focused on his girlfriend.

"Oh my! Commander!" a loud, shrill voice called.

Levi felt a chill creep up his spine as he recognized the voice. "Fuck..." he muttered.

The couple separated, but Petra still held Levi's hand. Hange bounded over to them smiling wildly.

"I knew it!" Hange exclaimed. "You two _are_ a thing! Oulo owes me fifty crowns!"

"Get lost, Shitty Glasses," Levi stated bluntly. "The lady and I are having a private moment!"

"Oh, alright Loverboy! You kids have fun!" Hange enthused, winking at the two as she walked away.

"Now, where were we?" Petra giggled.

The two once again moved together in an embrace, with Petra resting her head on Levi's shoulder. _This stupid shitty ass ball was worth it to spend time with you, Petra,_ Levi thought contently as the two swayed together to the music.


	3. The First Meeting

**Author's Note: Wow, ok its been a little while since I last updated this! Sorry! I wanted to get further in this story (like to chapter 10 or maybe even finish) by the time summer is over but life has just been so busy lately...ug...the joys of preparing to move. So, unfortunately, I won't be able to get to that point by the end of the summer, due to my schedule getting absolutely insane in August I'm going to get to chapter 5 and then go on a month-long hiatus while I move and settle into my new living situation. But don't worry, I won't abandon this story and expect many more updates in September! In other exciting news, I recently went to one of the largest anime conventions in my country and found out some big news regarding season 2 of Attack on Titan, the live-action movie, and the next several chapters of the manga! I'm so excited for everything happening with those in the next couple years! So, without further ado, enjoy chapter 3 and I promise the next update will be much sooner!**

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The First Meeting

Autumn 846

"Ready to go meet the new recruits, Levi?" Hange asked excitedly.

Levi glared at the brunette and scowled. "This has gone the same way for the past two years, Shitty Glasses. We get a batch of fresh Titan bait and by winter the majority have either left or been eaten."

"You could at least show a little enthusiasm," Hange said, rolling her eyes.

"And why should I? The ones who do survive and decide to stay are all idiots like Eld and Gunther," Levi complained.

"What's so bad about Eld and Gunther? They're fun, unlike _someone_ I know!" Hange teased.

Levi pointed to Eld and Gunther, who were supposed to be raking leaves but instead were playing in the leaf piles like children.

"That," he began. "That is what's so bad about them."

Hange looked around, scanning for other people she recognized. Being around the biggest buzzkill in the Scouting Legion was beginning to wear on her, so maybe someone, anyone would be able to spare her from his mood. She spotted Mike and Nanaba exiting the Castle and smiled at them, waving to them to get their attention. They looked oddly disheveled, considering they had both been at breakfast looking their best.

"Mike, Nanaba, over here! Maybe you can save me from Captain Shorty, he's being so boring!" Hange called.

Levi glared at her and jabbed her in the side, making her flinch. Mike and Nanaba walked over and looked the two over.

"Someone's in a pleasant mood today," Nanaba said sarcastically.

"What exactly do you call this?" Levi demanded, pointing to their two incredibly unprofessional looking comrades.

Nanaba giggled and Mike got a cocky grin on his face. He rested his hand on Levi's shoulder and began. "Well you see, when two members of the Scouting Legion love each other very much..."

"I don't want to hear about you two fucking somewhere in the Castle! Make yourselves more presentable, Erwin will be here soon," Levi said, repulsed.

"Well actually it was in the bathroom," Mike corrected.

"Disgusting. Do you realize other people use that room?" Levi spat.

Hange began laughing loudly as Levi continued to lecture Mike on how unsanitary it was to have sex in the bathroom, which was used by nearly every member of the Scouting Legion currently stationed here, including Commander Erwin. Nanaba glanced off into the distance and began smoothing her hair down and tucking in her clothing.

"Erwin and the others are coming," she whispered to the group.

Levi and Hange turned around and got into a line with Nanaba while Mike fixed his appearance. Eld and Gunther quickly joined the line as well. Erwin approached the group, followed by Dita and Darius, then finally by the new recruits. Erwin stood before the group and saluted them.

"Attention!" he called.

The group looked Erwin in the eye and saluted him in return.

"At ease," Erwin replied, nodding his head slightly, giving the cue for the other members to stop saluting. "This year we are joined by twenty new recruits. I expect you will treat them with the respect of any fellow member of the Scouting Legion, and that they will treat you with respect as their seniors."

"Yes, sir!" the group replied in unison.

"Now, to introduce you to your new squad members," Erwin said, looking at the new recruits. "These are Captain Levi, Squad Leader Mike Zacharius, Squad Leader Hange Zoe, and senior members Eld Jinn, Gunther Schultz, and Nanaba Karolingan."

Levi scanned over the recruits while the others smiled at the newcomers. Erwin then turned to the group and resumed speaking.

"These are the new members of the Scouting Legion," Erwin began. "Rashad Almady, rank 29, 102nd Trainees Corps; Jurgen Avar, rank 52, 102nd Trainees Corps; Nifa Babenberger, rank 118, 102nd Trainees Corps; Pere Beloit, rank 107, 102nd Trainees Corps; Moblit Berner, rank 32, 102nd Trainees Corps; Oulo Bozado, rank 17, 102nd Trainees Corps; Sweno Dumot, rank 76, 102nd Trainees Corps..."

Levi began to zone out, knowing that for the majority of these people knowing their name wouldn't matter. They would all just be nameless casualties in the end. He continued to scan the crowd out of boredom, trying his best to avoid eye contact. A taller man with shaggy light brown hair and a gaunt face glared at Levi, eventually causing him to notice. The man looked 19 at the oldest, and it was blatantly obvious he was trying to size up Levi. _Fantastic,_ he thought, _this brat is going to be a pain in my ass the entire time he's here._

Eventually everyone was dismissed, with the new recruits going to their quarters to unpack and get settled while the senior members were to return to their duties. Eld and Gunther began sneaking away to resume playing in the leaves instead of raking them, but this time Levi caught them.

"Oi! What are you two idiots planning on doing?" Levi demanded, glaring at them.

"Oh, um, nothing, just going back to raking leaves like you asked, Captain," Eld muttered.

Levi lowered their heads and banged them together, causing the two to groan and start cursing. "That's for slacking off earlier. I promise I'll be much harder on you two if you keep it up."

Levi walked away and caught up with Mike, Nanaba, and Hange, who were on their way back inside.

"We're going to introduce ourselves to the Titan Bait, are you sure you want to join us Shorty?" Mike asked.

"I may as well be civil while they're here," Levi sighed.

The four entered the main hall and spotted some of the new recruits. The taller young man who had been sizing up Levi earlier was there, chatting with another young man and three women. The young man had short light brown hair, while two of the women had long dark hair tied back in a ponytail and the third had loose shoulder-length ginger hair. The woman with ginger hair spotted the senior members and waved at them, smiling warmly. The four senior members made their way over to the group.

"Hi! I'm so excited to finally be able to meet some of the senior members here!" she chirped.

"Yeah, well, they are senior members, we'll probably be around longer than them," the taller man muttered.

"Shut up Oulo! They have more experience so we should respect them!" the young woman scolded.

Oulo rolled his eyes. "So this is the famous Captain Levi? I always imagined you'd be taller. They say you're one of the most intimidating soldiers in the military but how can you be when you're the same height as Petra?"

The ginger-haired woman, who Levi guessed was Petra, glared at Oulo. "That's not nice!" she scolded.

"So you two know each other pretty well it seems," Mike said.

"We were rivals back in the Trainees Corps. _She_ outranked me when we were promoted!" Oulo began.

"Because you always used to slack off!" Petra interjected.

Levi chuckled slightly. "I'm very familiar with people slacking off and not doing what needs to be done."

"Really?" Petra laughed. "Well, just keep Oulo on a tight leash if he ever ends up serving under you."

"Noted," Levi replied.

The other young man in the group of recruits smiled and looked at Hange.

"Why are you staring at her? There are much more attractive women here," Mike asked.

"Hey!" Hange scolded.

"Oh, it's not that. It's just that I realized you're Hange Zoe! In the Trainees Corps we heard all about your research and how much it's impacted our understanding of Titans! You're amazing!" he enthused. "I'm Moblit, by the way! It's an absolute honor to meet you!"

Hange stared at Moblit, dumbfounded. She had never had anyone be so excited to meet her.

"Don't do that, recruit. You don't want to feed Shitty Glasses' ego too much," Levi replied.

Hange leapt at Moblit and hugged him tightly. "I HAVE MY VERY OWN FAN! THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" she cried. "Would you like to be my assistant!?"

Moblit, sort of stunned by what had just happened, nodded. Hange grinned wickedly and began dragging him away, laughing madly.

"Well, we're never going to see him again," Mike sighed.

"Is this what happens whenever new recruits join the Legion?" Petra asked, still laughing.

"Normally Four-Eyes doesn't freak out quite like this, you got lucky this time to witness it," Mike replied.

"Petra, we should probably head back to our quarters to finish unpacking. Commander Erwin said that we need to be completely unpacked by noon," one of the other girls said.

"Oh, sure," Petra said, turning to the other girl. She then turned back to face the senior members and smiled at them. "I guess I'll see you around! It was nice to meet you, Captain Levi!"

Petra and the other girls walked back toward the stairs, with Oulo following behind them. Levi sighed as he watched Petra walk off, catching her smile and wave at him before heading up the stairs. _She seems too...sensitive...to be here,_ he thought.

"That ginger girl is cute," Mike said, earning him a dirty look from Nanaba.

"She'll last a week before she quits. She's not tough enough to be a Scout," Levi sighed.

"Does she remind you of Isabel at all?" Nanaba asked, causing Levi to look up.

"How so?" Mike asked.

"She has that same energy and outgoing nature Isabel had. I can't quite describe it. Levi, do you see it at all?" Nanaba asked.

Levi looked away. "Somewhat. But, Isabel has been dead for two years now, there's no point in dwelling on it. Petra isn't her."

Nanaba tried to smile at Levi but he avoided her gaze. Mike took in a deep breath.

"He smells emotional, it's strange. I'm not used to this from him," Mike whispered to Nanaba.

"I can hear you, Mike," Levi growled. "Come on, let's go check if the rest of the Titan Bait are performing their duties."

Mike and Nanaba nodded and followed Levi up to the living quarters, prepared to deal with recruits slacking off.

"I think we're going to be seeing more of this Petra girl around," Mike whispered to Nanaba.

"Hm?" Nanaba asked.

"Like I said, he smells emotional. Almost like he cares about something," Mike explained.

"Levi caring for anyone? I highly doubt it," Nanaba said.

"We'll see if my hunch is correct," Mike replied. "I'll bet you fifteen crowns that by this time next year he'll be invested in her."

"Make it twenty and you have yourself a bet. I'm certain I'll win, Levi doesn't view anyone as anything more than comrades," Nanaba replied.


End file.
